Little differences

Here's some differences I've observed in Ireland over the past few weeks.

* Tea. Tea. Tea. It's every where and pretty much everyone drinks it. ALL the time, more than coffee actually and every cafe offers tea. The coffee here is really not that great, but the tea is very good. I'm partial to Barry's gold blend or Earl Grey (Jen, we'll have to have many tea parties when I return!)

* Where American teenagers throw like in the middle of sentences the Irish tag it on at the end, like. Not all of them do it, but those who do use it a lot.

*Pubs = Everything. Haha. The pub is the place to be at night ... every night. It is expensive to go to the pubs all the time, but it is EXTREMELY different than going to an American bar. It is a place to gather with friends and talk over a pint, almost like talking over a cup of coffee in the states. Pubs also have GREAT food, so they are restaurants as well. While at PSU we would go out less often but drink more in one night, in Ireland they go out more often and drink less. (well ... not everyone, but a lot of people)

* Music. Trad music is abundant. People who know how to play instruments just get together and play. One of my friends is in the university trad club (traditional music club). They perform at a pub called the Crane Bar every Thursday and play traditional Irish instruments. My friend (who is American) plays the Uilleann pipes.

* They also say grand and lovely a lot. Awesome is not used, and they often will imitate you in a fake American accent if you say it. Dear means expensive and runners are sneakers.

* They also dress a lot more fashionably. Especially the girls. Even when it's gale force winds and raining many of the girls can be seen in tights and skirts or dresses. (No Northface or Uggs though)

There's more but those are the ones I can think of for now.

Also, my friend Aliza and I took a walk to the bay in Galway and it was beautiful. We walked out on the Mutton Causeway, which is just a strip of land jutting out into the Galway harbour. We weren't sure what was at the end because there was a lighthouse and some buildings ... turns out it's a sewage plant. But what we also didn't realize we where in Claddagh. I thought it was much further away from the city but it's actually right next to it. I thought it was a whole different town but apparently it's just the stony beach on the outskirts of Galway City.

Mutton Causeway. (We went all the way to where the lighthouse is.)